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Re: What is your view on appropirate Judicial Philosphy?
Very well. Let's take a closer look at the "cannons of construction" you claim prevailed at the time the Constitution was made. First up is the Plain Meaning rule. Here's what you posted.
Plain Meaning
When writing statutes, the legislature intends to use ordinary English words in their ordinary senses. The United States Supreme Court discussed the plain meaning rule in Caminetti v. U.S., 242 U.S. 470 (1917), reasoning "t is elementary that the meaning of a statute must, in the first instance, be sought in the language in which the act is framed, and if that is plain... the sole function of the courts is to enforce it according to its terms." And if a statute's language is plain and clear, the Court further warned that "the duty of interpretation does not arise, and the rules which are to aid doubtful meanings need no discussion."
Are you claiming that the above rule was law at the time the Constitution was made?
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I find it appalling that Justice Antonin Scala, in his dissenting opinion in McCreary County v. ACLU, constructed his model of "the relationship between church and state" in America without even considering the actual text of the Constitution. How do incompetents like him get on the U. S. Supreme Court?
Last edited by Mick Jagger; 06-23-2008 at 06:27 PM.
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